Curtis Seldon "Kitty" Cone
Personal Information
Born: 1944
Died: 2015
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
""For the first time we had concrete federal civil rights protection. We had shown ourselves and the country through network TV that we, the most hidden, impoverished, pitied group of people in the nation were capable of waging a deadly serious struggle that brought about profound social change. The sit in was a truly transforming experience the likes of which most of us had never seen before or ever saw again. Those of us with disabilities were imbued with a new sense of pride, strength, community and confidence. For the first time, many of us felt proud of who we were. And we understood that our isolation and segregation stemmed from societal policy, not from some personal defects on our part and our experiences with segregation and discrimination were not just our own personal problems.” (beyondchron.org); in her speech after the successful 504 Sit-in she said, “We showed strength and courage and power and commitment,” she said, “that we the shut-ins, or the shut-outs, we the hidden, supposedly the frail and the weak, that we can wage a struggle at the highest level of government and win.” (omarwasow.com); “I am thankful for my disability,” she said in the 1990s for an oral history. “I feel like the constraints and the choices that it has given me have made me who I am. And, you know, I like who I am.” (omarwasow.com); “The Power of 504,” Kitty says: “The signing of the regulations signified the public birth of the disability rights movement. It ushered in an era of disability activism, empowerment, and legislative victories based on the legal concepts of non-discrimination and integration embodied in Section 504.” (dredf.org); "
— Curtis Seldon "Kitty" Cone
Professional Life
Field of Study: Disability Rights Activist
Institution/Corporation: DREDF; Center for Independent Living
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Socialist Workers Party, Board of Directors DREDF
Awards & Achievements
Awards: None found
Achievements: began working as a community organizer for the disability rights movement in 1974; active in Vietnam war, civil rights, poverty & disability activism; 1974 began working for the Center for Independent Living Community Affairs Dept; organized a coalition & got ramps & curb cuts installed in Oakland, CA; organized protests to improve transportation access for disable people; organized & participated in 504 Sit-in to force the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the protest began on April 5, 1977 & took over the San Francisco Office of HEW & lasted 28 days; throughout her career organized numerous protests for accessibility rights for people with disabilities & paved the way for passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act; 1984 began working at World Institution on disability where she researched international personal care assistance programs; 1990 began working at Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF) lawyer referral service & became Development Director there in 1993, retiring 1999
diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at age 15
originally misdiagnosed with cerebral palsy, then polio
received numerous surgeries which she believed worsened her condition
as a teen had walking casts to stretch out her tendons
moved to the California Bay Area in 1972
while attending school at Holton Arms in D.C. her cousins had to carry her up & down stairs to attend classes because the school wasn't handicapped accessible
during her mid-teens her family moved to Kentucky where she observed overt racism for the 1st time & became involved in the civil rights movement much to the dismay of her father
was expelled from Mt Vernon Seminary, a boarding school, after 1 semester after disobeying the rules the headmistress imposed on her because of her disability (rules included not allowing her to bathe in the tub of her 4-student suite so she wouldn't upset her roommates)
began using a wheelchair while in college & had to endure ridiculous rules such as not having a motorized chair & not being allowed to have someone else push her in the chair
was active as a cheerleader for the wheelchair basketball team & was elected to Student Senate in college
mother died after her freshman year in college & she returned home to care for her younger brother
was unaware her mother had throat cancer or was undergoing surgery for the condition
returned to college Fall 1963 & became involved as an organizer for NAACP & the civil rights Movement
dropped out of college 6 credit hours before graduating
became a Marxist while in college & was placed on an FBI watch list
early 1980's moved to Mexico with her partner, Kathy Martinez, & adopted her son Jorge
was an alcoholic & stopped drinking in the 1970s
1064 was very involved with Friends of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
traveled in Latin & South America & spent time in Nicaragua with the Organization of Disabled Revolutionaries
wrote a novel with politically radical characters
loved opera & was a fierce competitor in pinochle & bridge
Father disowned & disinherited her after bailing her out of jail when she was arrested at a protest in college